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The Monkey's Fist

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

The Night of a Million Mosquitoes

Underway again, repairs made and maintenance done. The engine was humming happily and the helm
was easy and the sun was shining and warm.
We had a great day on the water and made excellent time, covering more
than 50 miles to anchor near the head of the Pungo River. There was a small chance of thunderstorms in
the evening, so an anchorage that was secure and sheltered was more of a
priority than one that had nice breezes.
We were sitting in the cockpit enjoying a quiet evening, with the boat
open to the warm moist night air. Almost
360 degrees of trees, water, marsh, and nothing built by humans in sight in any
direction. This really is the life.

It started to drizzle and when we went below – ugh! We seem
to have gotten a little more shelter than we bargained for. The still air allowed the insects to come
out. There were mosquitos everywhere, a
LOT of mosquitos. Un-swattably many mosquitoes, on every surface. Finally in desperation we closed the boat and
burned a mosquito-repellant coil, letting it serve as an impromptu bug
bomb. I’m sure that stuff wasn’t great
for humans to breathe, either, but we didn’t have a lot of other ideas at that
point.

Well, the bug bomb idea was about 80% effective and soon
those mosquitoes were dropping like, well, flies, and we could swat them or
pinch them up in paper towels. Now
what? It’s hot, it’s raining so we can’t
sleep with the hatches open, and we’re wearing long pants and long sleeve shirts
and socks (all sprayed with Off!) to protect us from the remaining
mosquitoes. And we’re going to sleep
exactly how? The v-berth is even hotter
than the main cabin. Blankets are
unthinkable, but so is leaving skin exposed.

We ended up sleeping – or at least dozing – fully dressed,
one on each side of the main cabin, me on the starboard settee, Dan on
port. And I’m thinking to myself – this is
the 21st century! We have air
conditioning! We have electricity! Why am
I living like this? What, again, is so romantic about this life afloat?

I bet Dan that we’d be laughing about the “night of the
million mosquitoes” a few days from now, when we got the boat to Great Bridge, Virginia. We’d be drinking margaritas at our favorite
Mexican restaurant that’s an easy walk from where we usually tie up for the
night when we’re in that area, and laughing.
Just, I wasn’t laughing yet. (Note, I’m posting this story 4 days later
and I’m STILL finding little souvenirs of this night every once in a while, on
the rugs or floor. And we have arrived
at Great Bridge, Virginia, and tonight we’re going to that Mexican restaurant!)